Possible move to Sacramento in a year--pros and cons? (San Diego: crime rates, homes)

[Italian_Flower]

My company has locations around the country and I have the option of having a relative say in where I live out of their 48 options... one of them is Sacramento. So... what is there to like and dislike about living in this area?

I'm trying to narrow down my options--I'm fresh out of college, ready to experience the world, and really open-minded so I'm letting every place be on the table. I am single, female, am not particularly needy at this point. I have a dog and like outdoorsy stuff but what's most important to me is having stuff to do (cultural events, places to go, trails to hike, classes to take, etc) and most most important is having the community be welcoming. I'm very social and make friends easily but I've lived in places where the culture encourages being more isolated--that is not for me!

SO... how does Sacramento do in that regard? What are summers like? Anything else you can tell me that'll help me make or break this on my list? I have lived in very very poor areas of the country and very rich areas of the country--I'm adaptable. Like I said, the community is the most important, crime rates and quality of my living space is relative to what I can do and who I can do it with. I can always move again to a better area once I get a feel for the place. Thank you so much!

(P.S.--once I can narrow down my options a bit--some of my options are places I never ever would have considered but now I am--I will go through all these threads and inform myself more fully, I'm sure threads like mine come up frequently but any help you locals or ex-locals can give me would be fantastic!)

[shelato]

The problem with these types of threads is that when you talk in real big generalities like how does Sacramento compare with say New York or San Diego is that people talk about how exciting it is to live in Manhattan or how nice it is to live by the beach near San Diego, but in reality most people aren't Paris Hilton, they have budgets so the relevant question isn't how is New York vs San Diego vs. Sacramento but what kind of neighborhood could you afford to live in Sacramento vs what kind of neighborhood you could in San Diego or what kind of neighborhood you could afford to live in New York. Lets say you are moving to all three areas making about $35K starting out. In Sacramento you could afford to live a pretty middle class lifestyle on that amount of money, but in these other areas you may need to have roommates to afford to live in even a kind of sketchy part of those communities.You might not have much of a budget for going out to eat or just weekend trips. So is the appeal of excitement of New York or the great weather in San Diego strong enough to you to overcome the fact that you might have to live in a sketchy neighborhood in those communities or just tighter budgets?


As for stuff to do near Sacramento, its about an hours drive to Napa for wine tasting and restaurants. You are about 90 miles to either San Francisco or Tahoe, so if you wanted to go skiing or snowboarding or just have some pretty good weekend trips, that it completely feasible. There is water skiing at Folsom Lake or on the Sacramento River. You can go white water rafting on the American River. There is an excellent system of bike trails along the American River that link Folsom Lake all the way to downtown Sacramento.

The winters are temperate, snow in this part of the country generally doesn't happen much below about 3000 feet, but because Sacramento is at the base of a mountain range that goes up to about 10000 ft you are still in pretty close proximity to most winter time sports.

As for the summers, its hotter here than along the California Coast, but compared to the rest of the country its not that bad.

You can see a comparison of Sacramento vs a bunch of other cities regarding the number of days above 90 below.

Mean Number of Days With Minimum Temperature 32 Degrees F or Less

But you can find more detailed climate information about Sacramento on pages 25-27 below

http://www.wrh.noaa.gov/sto/CLISAC2007.pdf

While the weather forecasters are calling for a high today of 105, the normal high for today is 91 and the normal low for today is 59. Lots of areas go through heat waves, but heat waves aren't the normal weather. More importantly even though it was 105 yesterday, the low was still 65, meaning that unlike other areas like say Phx or Vegas even when it gets hot during the day, the temperatures still generally cool off at night. That means this morning I could still go for a two hour bike ride this morning even though later this afternoon it will be pretty hot. Moreover there are activities hear to do in the heat like water skiing or swimming or going to the water park. Lastly most homes and business have air conditioning.

[wburg]

Sacramento is kind of an easygoing place--it's not a hustle-bustle sort of city. There are a lot of things to do once you know your way around, but you kind of have to poke around at first to find them.

You don't have to drive an hour for restaurants or wine tasting--Napa is nice, but there is some pretty fine dining right here in town, and there are urban wineries and wine bars in the central city, like Railbridge Cellars, whose tasting room is on the 14th floor of one of Sacramento's oldest skyscrapers (the Elks Building) with great views of the city. Plus there are places like the Old Sugar Mill in Clarksburg, 15 minutes from downtown in the Sacramento River delta, featuring a half-dozen or so different winemakers under one roof (as the name implies, a former sugar-beet mill.) If you're more into craft beer, we have a lot of good brewpubs and a growing number of local craft breweries, and if you're into coffee you'll find some of the best java in the country being roasted right here. There is generally some kind of festival, cultural event or street party every weekend, sometimes more than one--everything from ethnic/cultural festivals, history-themed events, concerts in the park, or mobile food truck festivals. Farmer's markets happen in different parks around the city (and parking lots) pretty much every day of the week.

[Italian_Flower]

That sounds very pleasant. ^_^ Thank you you guys. I think I'll look more into Sacramento.

[bluevelo]

What are your other choices? Unless its places like Detroit, Philly, Atlanta - anyplace that has a large ghetto - I would stay away from Sacramento. Its NOT that great. You pay way too much for what you get and crime is rampant.

[ryuns]

Originally Posted by bluevelo

What are your other choices? Unless its places like Detroit, Philly, Atlanta - anyplace that has a large ghetto - I would stay away from Sacramento. Its NOT that great. You pay way too much for what you get and crime is rampant.

Plus, all them dang kids always on yer lawn!

[bluevelo]

Originally Posted by ryuns

Plus, all them dang kids always on yer lawn!

The only reason, to live in California at all is the weather. Otherwise, all the negatives here FAR outweigh the positives. Too many people, too much crime, taxes are too high and too much nanny state that creates dependency and an unsafe place to live for people who follow the laws.

[u225615]

Originally Posted by bluevelo

The only reason, to live in California at all is the weather. Otherwise, all the negatives here FAR outweigh the positives. Too many people, too much crime, taxes are too high and too much nanny state that creates dependency and an unsafe place to live for people who follow the laws.

I may be wrong but I believe the above opinion is rooted in the fact that California will be literally "too much" for some unless they have a healthy income and living here will create disenchantment. Living in an undesirable neighborhood will expose one to some of the negatives mentioned above. Unfortunately, some move here a bit unprepared or dont account for the inevitable inflation of prices. Do your homework, prioritize what is important in your life, and have a realistic expectation of the lifestyle you'll have in California. For example, the chief expense will be housing so be prepared to pay much more to live in a comfortable and safe community in contrast to a comfortable and safe community in Peoria, Omaha, or Dayton.

[shelato]

If you think Dayton is so much better than Sacramento what is preventing you from actually moving there?

[sacramento916]

Originally Posted by bluevelo

The only reason, to live in California at all is the weather. Otherwise, all the negatives here FAR outweigh the positives. Too many people, too much crime, taxes are too high and too much nanny state that creates dependency and an unsafe place to live for people who follow the laws.

Im tired of all these people bitching about California. This is still by far the best state. If you don't like it, what are you doing here?